JP2007176165A - Method of generating recording data, recording apparatus and method of generating mask - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to make record of a high quality at a high speed by using a mask pattern for multipass recording. <P>SOLUTION: By performing a swapping process with adjacency forbiddance, two points in the horizontal direction of a buffer in which codes for each scan are set depending on the recording ratio of a gradation mask, that is, in the scanning direction of a recording head, are selected. Then, the codes are swapped. By this swapping, adjacencies of recording tolerance areas are eliminated in the mask pattern. As a result, when a driving frequency set for the recording head is kept constant, the scanning speed can be doubled at minimum. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording data generation method, a recording apparatus, a mask manufacturing method, and a mask pattern. Specifically, the present invention relates to a mask manufacturing method and a mask pattern used in multi-pass printing.

  Some recent printing apparatuses execute so-called multi-pass printing in which printing of the same printing area is completed by a plurality of scans for the purpose of forming an image to be formed on a printing medium with higher image quality. . In the multi-pass printing method, print data for each scan is generated by performing an AND operation on the print data and a mask pattern in which the print data is permitted / non-permissible in the same unit as the print data pixels. It is common to do. Hereinafter, multi-pass recording will be described.

  FIG. 4 described later in one embodiment of the present invention schematically shows a recording head and a recording pattern in order to explain a multipass recording method. P0001 denotes a recording head. Here, for simplicity, it is assumed that it has 16 recording elements (nozzles). As shown in the drawing, the nozzles are divided into first to fourth nozzle groups, and each nozzle group includes four nozzles. P0002 indicates a mask pattern. Areas of the same unit as pixels that permit printing are shown in black, and non-permitted areas are shown in white. The patterns recorded by each nozzle group are complementary to each other. When these patterns are overlapped, recording of a region corresponding to a 4 × 4 area is completed in four scans.

  Each of the recording patterns indicated by P0003 to P0006 shows how an image is completed by repeating scanning. At the end of each scan, the recording medium is conveyed by the width of the nozzle group in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Therefore, an image is completed in the same area of the recording medium (area corresponding to the width of each nozzle group) by four recording scans.

  As described above, the formation of each region of the recording medium by a plurality of nozzle groups in a plurality of scans has an effect of reducing variations in recording characteristics peculiar to nozzles, variations in conveyance accuracy of the recording medium, and the like. Further, by devising the arrangement of the print permission / non-permission areas in the mask pattern, it is possible to take measures against various other image problems and reliability problems of the printing apparatus.

  For example, in recent years, in an ink jet recording head that ejects a large number of small droplets at a high frequency, the ejection direction of nozzles located at the end of the recording head tends to incline. In this case, since the dots formed by the nozzles located at the end of the nozzle row land on the inner position shifted from the normal position, the white stripe (hereinafter referred to as “end stripe”) is printed at the pitch of the recording width of the recording head. May be generated). Even in such a situation, the edge streaks can be made inconspicuous by devising the arrangement of the mask pattern described above (Patent Document 1).

  Similarly, FIG. 5, which will be described later as an embodiment of the present invention, shows an example of a mask pattern employed to reduce this edge stripe. The black area of the mask pattern shown in FIG. 5 plays the same role as the black area of the mask pattern shown in FIG. 4, and indicates an area where recording is permitted (recording allowable area). On the other hand, the white area of the mask pattern shown in FIG. 5 plays the same role as the white area of the mask pattern shown in FIG. 4, and indicates a non-permitted area (non-recordable area). Here, an example is shown in which a print head having 768 nozzles is used and multi-pass printing is performed with four passes (printing is completed by four scans). As in the example shown in FIG. 4, all 768 nozzles are divided into four nozzle groups. However, the mask shown in FIG. 5 has a recording rate (the total number of black areas and white areas constituting the mask pattern depending on the position of the nozzles). The ratio of the number of black areas to the other) is different. The recording rate of the mask pattern corresponding to the first nozzle group is 10% and 20% from the lower nozzle in the drawing. Further, the recording rate of the mask pattern corresponding to the second nozzle group is 30% and 40%, the recording rate of the mask pattern corresponding to the third nozzle group is 40% and 30%, and the mask pattern corresponding to the fourth nozzle group. The recording rate is 20% and 10%. The sum of the mask pattern recording rates corresponding to these four nozzle groups is 100%. That is, the mask patterns corresponding to the lower side of the first to fourth nozzle groups are complementary to each other, and the recording rate is 100% (= 10% + 30% + 40% + 20%). On the other hand, the mask patterns corresponding to the upper side of the first to fourth nozzle groups are also complementary to each other, and the recording rate is 100% (= 20% + 40% + 30% + 10%).

  In the mask shown in FIG. 5, the recording rate of the central nozzle is set to be relatively high as described above, and the recording rate gradually decreases toward the end. It has been confirmed that the above-described inner oblique in the ejection direction appears more markedly as smaller droplets of ink are recorded at higher speed and higher density. Therefore, by setting the recording rate of the end portion to be lower than that of the central portion, the inner oblique tendency of the nozzle located at the end portion can be reduced. Further, even if there is a slight inclining tendency, the number of ejected dots is reduced, so that the effect of making the edge streaks due to the landing position deviation inconspicuous is also obtained.

  In an inkjet recording apparatus that places importance on photographic image quality, a small amount of dots, a high density of nozzles, and a high frequency of driving are important factors in achieving both image quality and recording speed. Therefore, the mask (also referred to as “gradation mask”) in which the recording rate decreases from the center to the end along the nozzle arrangement as shown in FIG. 5 is a recent technique that places importance on high-quality recording such as photographic image quality. In an ink jet recording apparatus, it is generally useful.

  As a mask pattern used in the multipass printing method, a random mask having white noise characteristics as described in Patent Document 2 and a mask having blue noise characteristics described in Patent Document 3 are often used. . These mask patterns have an advantage that fine textures are unlikely to appear in an image formed by the multi-pass printing method because the arrangement of the printable / non-permitted areas has non-periodic characteristics.

  As described above, by applying the mask pattern having the non-periodic characteristics described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 to the mask described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce the amount of dots and increase the density of nozzles. Corresponding high-quality images can be recorded.

JP 2002-096455 A JP 07-052390 A JP 2002-144552 A

  However, when a mask disclosed in the prior art is used in combination as described above, it may not be applicable to high-speed recording. In other words, the mask pattern having the conventional white noise characteristics and blue noise characteristics described above and the mask pattern having a different recording rate depending on the nozzle position of the recording head have a recording allowance area adjacent to each other in the scanning direction of the recording head. There are many. In particular, in the case of the gradation mask described in Patent Document 1, since the recording rate of the mask corresponding to the central nozzle is relatively high, the recording allowable area is often adjacent in the scanning direction. On the other hand, the frequency for driving the nozzle to record the recording data corresponding to one nozzle in the scanning direction is set so that it can be driven in accordance with the distance (pitch) of the adjacent print allowable areas in the mask. There are many cases. In other words, when the maximum drive frequency possible with the print head to be used is the same, this maximum drive frequency is the shortest distance between the two print permissible areas in the scanning direction (in the case described in the above document, adjacent to each other). Think about making it correspond to the distance. In this case, as the minimum distance is shorter, the scanning speed of the recording head is made slower so that dots are recorded at positions of the minimum distance.

  On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIGS. 41 (A) to 41 (D), the mask data of the mask pattern is simply arranged so that the printable areas are not adjacent to each other, and a mask that can increase the minimum distance is considered. can do. 41A to 41D show mask patterns used in the first pass to the fourth pass in the multipass printing method. These mask patterns are arranged so that the printable areas are not adjacent in the scanning direction. According to this, when the drive frequency is the same, the scanning speed can be doubled as compared with the case where the recording allowable areas are adjacent to each other, and high-speed recording can be realized.

  However, when a mask pattern having a periodic characteristic as shown in FIGS. 41A to 41D is applied, the non-periodic characteristic due to the mask pattern described in Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3 is impaired. Become. That is, the above periodic pattern does not have non-periodic characteristics like the mask patterns described in these documents. For this reason, high quality recording that can be realized by these documents cannot be expected.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a recording data generation method and a recording apparatus that perform mask processing that enables high-quality recording while enabling high-quality recording. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mask pattern that enables such high-quality recording and high-speed recording, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  Therefore, in the present invention, a recording data generation method for performing recording by causing a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged to scan the same area of a recording medium a plurality of times, the recording to be recorded in the same area. A step of generating print data to be recorded in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out the data using a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of scans; Each of the mask patterns is a pattern in which a print permission area that allows printing of the print data and a non-print permission area that does not allow printing are arranged in the scanning direction so as to correspond to each of the plurality of nozzles. The mask pattern recording corresponding to the end nozzles of the recording head is a pattern in which the recording allowable area is not adjacent in the scanning direction. Contents area ratio is characterized by less than the proportion of printable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the central portion nozzles of the recording head.

  Further, the recording apparatus performs recording by causing a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged to scan the same area of the recording medium a plurality of times, and the recording data to be recorded in the same area corresponds to the plurality of times of scanning. A plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of scans, each of which includes the plurality of nozzle patterns. Corresponding to each of the patterns, a recording allowable area that allows recording of the recording data and a non-recording allowable area that does not permit recording are arranged in the scanning direction, and the recording is performed in the scanning direction. The allowable area is a pattern that is not adjacent, and the print allowable area ratio of the mask pattern corresponding to the end nozzles of the print head is And wherein the less than the proportion of printable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the central portion nozzles.

  In another embodiment, a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged is scanned a plurality of times with respect to the same region of the recording medium, and a thinned image is recorded using a different nozzle group of the recording head in each of the plurality of scans. Thus, an inkjet recording apparatus that completes an image to be recorded in the same area, using a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to nozzle groups that use the recording data to be recorded in the same area for each of the plurality of scans. Based on the generated print data using the nozzle group facing the same region in each of the multiple scans, the means for generating print data to be printed in each of the multiple scans by thinning out Recording control means for recording the thinned image, and each of the plurality of mask patterns corresponds to a nozzle near the center of the nozzle array. The pattern corresponding to the recording permissible area and the non-recording permissible area is arranged such that the portion corresponding to the nozzle closer to the end than the part has a smaller recording permissible area ratio, and the recording is performed in the scanning direction. The allowable area is a pattern in which non-adjacent and non-periodic arrays are arranged, and the ratio of the print allowable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the nozzle group including the end nozzle of the recording head is a nozzle that does not include the end nozzle. The mask pattern corresponding to the group is smaller than the ratio of the print allowable area.

  In still another embodiment, a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged is scanned a plurality of times on the same area on the recording medium, and a thinned image is recorded using a different nozzle of the recording head in each of the plurality of scans. Thus, a recording apparatus for completing an image to be recorded in the same area, wherein a plurality of nozzle groups obtained by dividing the plurality of nozzles by a predetermined number of units are placed in the same area in each of the plurality of scans. In order to face each other, the same unit is used by using a transport unit that transports the recording medium by an amount corresponding to a single nozzle group, and a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to each nozzle group used in each of the plurality of scans. Means for generating recording data to be recorded by each nozzle group in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out the recording data corresponding to the area; Each of the plurality of mask patterns includes the nozzle array, and a recording control unit that records the thinned image based on the generated recording data using a nozzle group facing the same region. A pattern in which a print allowance area and a non-print allowance area are arranged so that the ratio of the print allowance area decreases from the central portion side to the end portion side of the arrangement along the scan direction. The recording permissible area is a non-adjacent and non-periodic pattern, and the ratio of the print permissible area of the mask pattern corresponding to the nozzle group including the end nozzle of the recording head is the same as that of the end nozzle. It is smaller than the ratio of the print allowable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the nozzle group not included.

  Further, when recording is performed by causing a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged to scan the same area of the recording medium a plurality of times, the recording data to be recorded in the same area is a plurality of recording data corresponding to the plurality of scans. A method of manufacturing a mask pattern used for generating recording data to be recorded in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out using a mask pattern, which is determined according to the position of a nozzle of the recording head A code setting step for setting each code sequence corresponding to the plurality of scans in a direction corresponding to the scan direction in accordance with a ratio of an area where printing is permitted; and An exchange process for exchanging the positions of the codes so as to eliminate the adjacency, and a code string for which the exchange has been performed are arranged in a print allowable area for each of the plurality of scans. Characterized in that comprises a conversion step of replacing the placement.

  According to the above configuration, white streaks can be avoided by setting the recording rate according to the position of the corresponding nozzle. In addition to this, it is possible to increase the recording speed by creating a mask pattern that does not have an adjoining recording allowable area in the horizontal direction (scanning direction).

  In addition, when the code exchange is selected at random, the code for each of the multiple scans, and therefore the arrangement of the print allowable area, has a non-periodic characteristic, so that high-quality printing without texture is possible. It can be carried out.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1. 1. Basic Configuration 1.1 Overview of Recording System FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the flow of image data processing in a recording system applied in an embodiment of the present invention. The recording system J0011 includes a host device J0012 for generating image data indicating an image to be recorded, setting a UI (user interface) for generating the data, and the like. Further, a recording device J0013 is provided which records on a recording medium based on the image data generated by the host device J0012. The printing apparatus J0013 includes cyan (C), light cyan (Lc), magenta (M), light magenta (Lm), yellow (Y), red (R), green (G), first black (K1), and second. Recording is performed with 10 color inks of black (K2) and gray (Gray). For this purpose, a recording head H1001 that discharges these 10 colors of ink is used. These 10 color inks are pigment inks containing a pigment as a coloring material.

  As programs that operate in the operating system of the host device J0012, there are applications and printer drivers. The application J0001 executes processing for creating image data to be recorded by the recording apparatus. This image data or data before editing or the like can be taken into a PC via various media. The host device according to the present embodiment can first take in, for example, JPEG format image data captured by a digital camera using a CF card. Also, for example, TIFF format image data read by a scanner or image data stored in a CD-ROM can be captured. Furthermore, data on the web can be taken in via the Internet. These captured data are displayed on the monitor of the host device and edited, processed, etc. via the application J0001, for example, image data R, G, B of sRGB standard is created. On the UI screen displayed on the monitor of the host device J0012, the user sets the type of recording medium used for recording, the quality of recording, and issues a recording instruction. In response to this recording instruction, the image data R, G, B are transferred to the printer driver.

  The printer driver includes a pre-stage process J0002, a post-stage process J0003, a γ correction J0004, a halftoning J0005, and a print data creation process J0006 as the processes. Hereinafter, each process J0002 to J0006 performed by the printer driver will be briefly described.

(A) Pre-processing The pre-processing J0002 performs color gamut mapping. In the present embodiment, data conversion is performed to map the color gamut reproduced by the image data R, G, B of the sRGB standard into the color gamut reproduced by the recording device J0013. Specifically, 256-gradation image data R, G, and B, each of which is represented by 8 bits, are converted into 8-bit data in the color gamut of the recording apparatus J0013 by using a three-dimensional LUT. Convert to R, G, B.

(B) Subsequent processing In the post-processing J0003, based on the 8-bit data R, G, and B on which the color gamut is mapped, 8-bit and 10-color colors corresponding to the combination of inks that reproduce the color represented by this data Find decomposition data. That is, color separation data of Y, M, Lm, C, Lc, K1, K2, R, G, and Gray are obtained. In the present embodiment, this process is performed by using a three-dimensional LUT together with an interpolation operation as in the previous process.

(C) γ Processing The γ correction J0004 performs density value (gradation value) conversion for each color data of the color separation data obtained by the subsequent processing J0003. Specifically, by using a one-dimensional LUT corresponding to the gradation characteristics of each color ink of the printing apparatus J0013, conversion is performed so that the color separation data is linearly associated with the gradation characteristics of the printer.

(D) Halftoning Halftoning J0005 is a quantum that converts 8-bit color-separated data Y, M, Lm, C, Lc, K1, K2, R, G, and Gray that have been γ-corrected into 4-bit data. Do. In the present embodiment, 256-bit 8-bit data is converted to 9-gradation 4-bit data using an error diffusion method. This 4-bit data is data serving as an index for indicating an arrangement pattern in the dot arrangement patterning process in the printing apparatus.

(E) Recording data creation process At the end of the process performed by the printer driver, the recording data creation process J0006 creates recording data in which recording control information is added to the recording image data containing the 4-bit index data. .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of such recording data. The recording data is composed of recording control information for controlling recording and recording image data (the above-described 4-bit index data) indicating an image to be recorded. The recording control information includes “recording medium information”, “recording quality information”, and “other control information” such as a paper feed method. The recording medium information describes the type of recording medium to be recorded, and any one type of recording medium is defined among plain paper, glossy paper, postcard, and printable disc. The recording quality information describes the quality of the recording, and any one of the quality of “clean (high quality recording)”, “standard”, “fast (high speed recording)”, etc. is defined. . The recording control information is formed based on the content specified by the user on the UI screen on the monitor of the host device J0012. Further, it is assumed that the recorded image data describes the image data generated by the above-described halftone process J0005. The recording data generated as described above is supplied to the recording device J0013.

  The printing apparatus J0013 performs the following dot arrangement patterning process J0007 and mask data conversion process J0008 on the printing data supplied from the host apparatus J0012.

(F) Dot arrangement patterning process In the above-described halftone process J0005, the number of gradation levels is reduced from 256-value multi-value density information (8-bit data) to 9-value gradation value information (4-bit data). . However, data that can be actually recorded by the printing apparatus J0013 is binary data (1 bit data) indicating whether or not ink dots are printed. Therefore, in the dot arrangement patterning process J0007, for each pixel expressed by 4-bit data of gradation levels 0 to 8, which is an output value from the halftone process J0005, the gradation value (level 0 to 8) of that pixel is represented. ) Is assigned to the dot arrangement pattern. This defines whether or not ink dots are recorded (dot on / off) in each of a plurality of areas in one pixel, and 1-bit binary data of “1” or “0” for each area in one pixel. Place. Here, “1” is binary data indicating dot recording, and “0” is binary data indicating non-recording.

  FIG. 3 shows output patterns for input levels 0 to 8 that are converted by the dot arrangement patterning processing of the present embodiment. Each level value shown on the left of the drawing corresponds to level 0 to level 8 which are output values from the halftone processing unit on the host device side. An area composed of 2 vertical areas × 4 horizontal areas arranged on the right side corresponds to an area of one pixel output by halftone processing. Each area in one pixel corresponds to a minimum unit in which dot on / off is defined. In this specification, the “pixel” is a minimum unit that can express gradation, and is a target of image processing of multi-bit multi-value data (processing such as the preceding stage, the latter stage, γ correction, and halftoning). Is the smallest unit.

  In the figure, the area filled with a circle indicates an area where dots are recorded, and the number of dots to be recorded increases by one as the number of levels increases. In the present embodiment, the density information of the original image is finally reflected in such a form.

  (4n) to (4n + 3) indicate pixel positions in the horizontal direction from the left end of the image data to be recorded by substituting an integer of 1 or more for n. Each pattern shown below indicates that a plurality of different patterns are prepared according to pixel positions even at the same input level. That is, even when the same level is input, four types of dot arrangement patterns shown in (4n) to (4n + 3) are cyclically assigned on the recording medium.

  In FIG. 3, the vertical direction is the direction in which the ejection ports of the recording head are arranged, and the horizontal direction is the scanning direction of the recording head. In this way, it is possible to perform recording with a plurality of different dot arrangements for the same level. This is because the number of ejections is distributed between the nozzles located at the upper and lower positions of the dot arrangement pattern, This has the effect of dispersing various noises.

  When the dot arrangement patterning process described above is completed, all dot arrangement patterns for the recording medium are determined.

(G) Mask Data Conversion Process Since the dot arrangement patterning process J0007 described above determines the presence / absence of dots for each area on the recording medium, binary data indicating this dot arrangement is sent to the drive circuit J0009 of the recording head H1001. If input, a desired image can be recorded. In this case, so-called one-pass printing, in which printing for the same scanning area on the printing medium is completed by one scan, can be executed. Here, so-called multi-pass printing is also possible, in which printing in the same scanning area on the printing medium is completed by a plurality of scans. Here, an example of multipass recording will be described.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows a recording head and a recording pattern in order to explain the multipass recording method. The recording head H1001 applied to this embodiment actually has 768 nozzles, but here it will be described as having 16 nozzles for simplicity. As shown in the drawing, the nozzles are divided into first to fourth nozzle groups, and each nozzle group includes four nozzles. The mask pattern P0002 includes first to fourth mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d). The first to fourth mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d) define areas where the first to fourth nozzle groups can be recorded. The black area in the mask pattern indicates a recording allowable area, and the white area indicates a non-recording area. The first to fourth mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d) are complementary to each other, and when these four mask patterns are overlapped, recording of a region corresponding to a 4 × 4 area is completed. It has become. Note that the mask pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention is described in FIG. 5 and FIG. 22 and subsequent figures, and is not a relatively simple pattern as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the mask pattern is shown as a relatively simple one for the sake of simplicity.

  Each pattern indicated by P0003 to P0006 shows a state in which an image is completed by overlapping recording scans. At the end of each printing scan, the printing medium is conveyed by the width of the nozzle group (four nozzles in this figure) in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Therefore, the same area of the recording medium (area corresponding to the width of each nozzle group) is configured such that an image is completed only after four recording scans. As described above, the formation of each same area of the recording medium by a plurality of nozzle groups by a plurality of scans has an effect of reducing variations peculiar to the nozzles and variations in the conveyance accuracy of the recording medium.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a mask that can be actually applied in the present embodiment. The recording head H1001 applied in this embodiment has 768 nozzles, and 192 nozzles belong to each of the four nozzle groups. The mask pattern size is 768 areas in the vertical direction equivalent to the number of nozzles and 256 areas in the horizontal direction, and the four mask patterns corresponding to each of the four nozzle groups maintain a complementary relationship with each other. It has become.

  By the way, it is known that an air flow is generated in the vicinity of a recording unit in an ink jet recording head that discharges a large number of small droplets at a high frequency as applied in the present embodiment. It has been confirmed that this air flow particularly affects the ejection direction of nozzles located at the end of the recording head. Therefore, in the mask pattern of this embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 5, the distribution of the print allowance is biased depending on the region among the nozzle groups or among the same nozzle group. As shown in FIG. 5, by applying a mask pattern having a configuration in which the recording allowance of the end nozzles is smaller than the recording allowance of the center, landing position deviation of the ink droplets ejected by the end nozzles This makes it possible to make the harmful effects caused by.

  The recording allowance determined by the mask pattern is as follows. In other words, the recording allowable areas (black areas of the mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d) in FIG. 4) and the non-recording allowable areas (mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d) of FIG. 4) constituting the mask pattern. The ratio of the number of recordable areas to the total number of white areas) is expressed as a percentage. That is, if the mask pattern recording allowable area is M and the non-recording allowable area is N, the mask pattern recording allowable ratio (%) is M ÷ (M + N) × 100.

  In the present embodiment, the mask data shown in FIG. 5 is stored in a memory in the recording apparatus main body. In the mask data conversion process J0008, an AND process is performed between the mask data and the binary data obtained by the above-described dot arrangement patterning process, so that a binary to be recorded in each recording scan is obtained. Data is determined. Then, the binary data is sent to the drive circuit J0009. As a result, the recording head H1001 is driven and ink is ejected according to the binary data. Details of the mask pattern of this embodiment will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the pre-processing J0002, the post-processing J0003, the γ processing J0004, the halftoning J0005, and the recording data creation processing J0006 are executed by the host device J0012. The dot arrangement patterning process J0007 and the mask data conversion process J0008 are executed by the printing apparatus J0013. However, the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, a part of the processes J0002 to J0005 executed by the host device J0012 may be executed by the recording device J0013, or all may be executed by the host device J0012. Alternatively, the processing J0002 to J0008 may be executed by the recording device J0013.

1.2 Configuration of Mechanism Unit The configuration of each mechanism unit in the recording apparatus applied in the present embodiment will be described. The recording apparatus main body in the present embodiment can be generally classified into a paper feed unit, a paper transport unit, a paper discharge unit, a carriage unit, a flat path recording unit, a cleaning unit, and the like based on the role of each mechanism unit. Is housed in the exterior.

  6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 are perspective views showing the external appearance of a recording apparatus applied in this embodiment. 6 is a state seen from the front when the recording apparatus is not used, FIG. 7 is a state seen from the rear when the recording apparatus is not used, and FIG. 8 is a state seen from the front when the recording apparatus is used. Each is shown. FIG. 12 shows a state seen from the front during flat pass recording, and FIG. 13 shows a state seen from the back during flat pass recording. FIGS. 9 to 11 and FIGS. 14 to 16 are diagrams for explaining the internal mechanism of the recording apparatus main body. 9 is a perspective view from the upper right part, FIG. 10 is a perspective view from the upper left part, and FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of the recording apparatus main body. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view during flat pass recording. 15 is a perspective view of the cleaning unit, FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration and operation of the wiping mechanism in the cleaning unit, and FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the wet liquid transfer unit in the cleaning unit. is there.

Hereinafter, each part will be sequentially described with reference to these drawings as appropriate.
(A) Exterior part (FIGS. 6 and 7)
The exterior part is attached so as to cover the periphery of the paper feed part, paper transport part, paper discharge part, carriage part, cleaning part, flat path part and wet liquid transfer part. The exterior portion mainly includes a lower case M7080, an upper case M7040, an access cover M7030, a connector cover, and a front cover M7010.

  A lower discharge tray rail (not shown) is provided below the lower case M7080, and the divided discharge tray M3160 can be stored. Further, the front cover M7010 is configured to close the paper discharge port when not in use.

  An access cover M7030 is attached to the upper case M7040 and is configured to be rotatable. A part of the upper surface of the upper case has an opening, and the ink tank H1900 and the recording head H1001 (FIG. 21) can be exchanged at this position. In the recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the recording head H1001 is in the form of a unit in which a plurality of discharge units capable of discharging one color of ink are integrally configured. The ink tank H1900 is configured as a recording head cartridge H1000 that can be attached and detached independently for each color. The upper case M7040 is provided with a door switch lever (not shown) for detecting the opening / closing of the access cover M7030, an LED guide M7060 for transmitting / displaying LED light, a power key E0018, a resume key E0019, a flat pass key E3004, and the like. Yes. Further, the multi-stage type paper feed tray M2060 is rotatably attached, and when the paper feed unit is not used, the paper feed tray M2060 is accommodated so that it also serves as a cover for the paper feed unit. Has been.

  The upper case M7040 and the lower case M7080 are attached with elastic fitting claws, and a connector cover (not shown) covers a portion where the connector portion is provided therebetween.

(B) Paper feed unit (FIGS. 8 and 11)
Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 11, the paper feed unit is configured as follows. That is, a pressure plate M2010 on which recording media are stacked, a paper feed roller M2080 for feeding recording media one by one, a separation roller M2041 for separating the recording media, a return lever M2020 for returning the recording media to the stacking position, etc. It is configured by being attached.

(C) Paper transport unit (FIGS. 8 to 11)
A conveyance roller M3060 for conveying a recording medium is rotatably attached to a chassis M1010 made of a bent metal sheet. The conveying roller M3060 has a structure in which ceramic fine particles are coated on the surface of a metal shaft, and is attached to the chassis M1010 in a state where the metal portions of both shafts are received by bearings (not shown). The conveyance roller M3060 is provided with a roller tension spring (not shown), and by energizing the conveyance roller M3060, an appropriate amount of load is applied during rotation so that stable conveyance can be performed.

  A plurality of driven pinch rollers M3070 are provided in contact with the transport roller M3060. The pinch roller M3070 is held by the pinch roller holder M3000, but is urged by a pinch roller spring (not shown) to be brought into pressure contact with the conveyance roller M3060, and generates a conveyance force for the recording medium. At this time, the rotation shaft of the pinch roller holder M3000 is attached to the bearing of the chassis M1010 and rotates around this position.

  A paper guide flapper M3030 and a platen M3040 for guiding the recording medium are disposed at the entrance where the recording medium is conveyed. The pinch roller holder M3000 is provided with a PE sensor lever M3021. The PE sensor lever M3021 plays a role of transmitting detection of the leading end and the trailing end of the recording medium to a paper end sensor (hereinafter referred to as a PE sensor) E0007 fixed to the chassis M1010. The platen M3040 is attached to the chassis M1010 and positioned. The paper guide flapper M3030 can rotate around a bearing portion (not shown) and is positioned by contacting the chassis M1010.

  A recording head H1001 (FIG. 21) is provided on the downstream side of the conveyance roller M3060 in the recording medium conveyance direction.

  The conveyance process in the above configuration will be described. The recording medium sent to the paper transport unit is guided by the pinch roller holder M3000 and the paper guide flapper M3030, and is sent to the roller pair of the transport roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070. At this time, the PE sensor lever M3021 detects the leading edge of the recording medium, and thereby the recording position with respect to the recording medium is obtained. A roller pair composed of a conveyance roller M3060 and a pinch roller M3070 is rotated by driving of the LF motor E0002, and the recording medium is conveyed on the platen M3040 by this rotation. The platen M3040 is provided with a rib serving as a conveyance reference surface, and a gap between the recording head H1001 and the recording medium surface is managed by the rib. At the same time, the ribs play a role of suppressing the undulation of the recording medium together with a paper discharge unit described later.

  The driving force for rotating the transport roller M3060 is transmitted, for example, to the pulley M3061 provided on the shaft of the transport roller M3060 via a timing belt (not shown) from the LF motor E0002 made of a DC motor. It is obtained by doing. A code wheel M3062 for detecting the amount of conveyance by the conveyance roller M3060 is provided on the axis of the conveyance roller M3060. The adjacent chassis M1010 is provided with an encode sensor M3090 for reading the marking formed on the code wheel M3062. The markings formed on the code wheel M3062 are formed at a pitch of 150 to 300 lpi (line / inch; reference value).

(D) Paper discharge section (FIGS. 8 to 11)
The paper discharge unit includes a first paper discharge roller M3100, a second paper discharge roller M3110, a plurality of spurs M3120, a gear train, and the like.

  The first paper discharge roller M3100 is configured by providing a plurality of rubber portions on a metal shaft. The first paper discharge roller M3100 is driven by transmitting the driving of the transport roller M3060 to the first paper discharge roller M3100 via an idler gear.

  The second paper discharge roller M3110 has a structure in which a plurality of elastomer elastic bodies M3111 are attached to a resin shaft. The second paper discharge roller M3110 is driven by transmitting the drive of the first paper discharge roller M3100 via an idler gear.

  The spur M3120 is formed by integrating a circular thin plate made of, for example, SUS, which has a plurality of convex shapes around the resin portion, and is attached to the spur holder M3130. This attachment is performed by a spur spring provided with a coil spring in a rod shape. At the same time, the spring force of the spur spring causes the spur M3120 to contact the discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 with a predetermined pressure. With this configuration, the spur M3120 can be rotated following the two discharge rollers M3100 and M3110. Some of the spurs M3120 are provided at the position of the rubber portion of the first paper discharge roller M3100 or the elastic body M3111 of the second paper discharge roller M3110, and mainly play a role of generating the conveyance force of the recording medium. Yes. In addition, some others are provided at positions where the rubber part or the elastic body M3111 is not present, and mainly play a role of suppressing the lifting of the recording medium during recording.

  Further, the gear train plays a role of transmitting the driving of the transport roller M3060 to the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110.

  With the above configuration, the recording medium on which an image has been formed is sandwiched between the nip between the first paper discharge roller M3110 and the spur M3120, conveyed, and discharged to the paper discharge tray M3160. The paper discharge tray M3160 is divided into a plurality of parts and can be stored in a lower part of a lower case M7080 described later. When used, pull out. Further, the discharge tray M3160 is designed such that its height increases toward the leading end, and both ends thereof are held at high positions, improving the stackability of the discharged recording medium, rubbing the recording surface, and the like. Is preventing.

(E) Carriage part (FIGS. 9 to 11)
The carriage unit has a carriage M4000 for mounting the recording head H1001, and the carriage M4000 is supported by a guide shaft M4020 and a guide rail M1011. The guide shaft M4020 is attached to the chassis M1010 and guides and supports the carriage M4000 to reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction. The guide rail M1011 is formed integrally with the chassis M1010, and holds the rear end of the carriage M4000 and plays a role of maintaining a gap between the recording head H1001 and the recording medium. Further, a sliding sheet M4030 made of a thin plate of stainless steel or the like is stretched on the sliding side of the guide rail M1011 with respect to the carriage M4000 so as to reduce the sliding noise of the recording apparatus.

  The carriage M4000 is driven via a timing belt M4041 by a carriage motor E0001 attached to the chassis M1010. The timing belt M4041 is stretched and supported by an idle pulley M4042. Further, the timing belt M4041 is coupled to the carriage M4000 via a carriage damper made of rubber or the like, and the unevenness of the recorded image is reduced by attenuating the vibration of the carriage motor E0001 or the like.

  An encoder scale E0005 (described later with reference to FIG. 18) for detecting the position of the carriage M4000 is provided in parallel with the timing belt M4041. On the encoder scale E0005, markings are formed at a pitch of 150 lpi to 300 lpi. An encoder sensor E0004 (described later with reference to FIG. 18) for reading the marking is provided on a carriage substrate E0013 (described later with reference to FIG. 18) mounted on the carriage M4000. The carriage substrate E0013 is also provided with a head contact E0101 for electrical connection with the recording head H1001. In addition, a flexible cable E0012 (not shown) for transmitting a drive signal from the electric board E0014 to the recording head H1001 is connected to the carriage M4000.

  The following is provided as a configuration for fixing the recording head H1001 to the carriage M4000. That is, an abutting portion (not shown) for positioning the recording head H1001 while pressing the recording head H1001 and a pressing means (not shown) for fixing the recording head H1001 to a predetermined position are provided on the carriage M4000. The pressing means is mounted on the head set lever M4010, and is configured to act on the recording head H1001 by turning the head set lever M4010 about the rotation fulcrum when setting the recording head H1001.

  Further, the carriage M4000 is provided with a position detection sensor M4090 including a reflection type optical sensor for recording on a special medium such as a CD-R or for detecting the position of a recording result or a sheet edge. . The position detection sensor M4090 can detect the current position of the carriage M4000 by emitting light from the light emitting element and receiving the reflected light.

  When an image is formed on the recording medium in the above configuration, a pair of rollers including the conveyance roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070 conveys and positions the recording medium with respect to the row direction position. Further, with respect to the row direction position, the carriage M4000 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction by the carriage motor E0001, and the recording head H1001 is disposed at the target image forming position. The positioned recording head H1001 ejects ink to the recording medium in accordance with a signal from the electric substrate E0014. A detailed configuration and recording system for the recording head H1001 will be described later. In the recording apparatus of the present embodiment, recording main scanning in which the carriage M4000 scans in the column direction while recording is performed by the recording head H1001 and sub-scanning in which the recording medium is conveyed in the row direction by the conveyance roller M3060 are alternately repeated. . Thus, an image is formed on the recording medium.

(F) Flat pass recording unit (FIGS. 12 to 14)
Paper feeding from the paper feeding unit is performed in a state where the recording medium is bent because the path through which the recording medium passes is bent until reaching the pinch roller as shown in FIG. Therefore, for example, when a thick recording medium of about 0.5 mm or more is to be fed from the sheet feeding unit, a reaction force of the bent recording medium may be generated, and the sheet feeding resistance may increase to prevent sheet feeding. . Even if paper can be fed, the recording medium after being ejected may remain bent or bend.

  Flat-pass recording is performed on a recording medium that is not desired to be bent, such as a thick recording medium, or a recording medium that cannot be bent, such as a CD-R.

  Here, in flat pass recording, there is a type in which recording is performed by causing a recording medium to be nipped by a pinch roller of the main body from the opening on the slit on the back of the main body (under the paper feeding device) in a manual feed mode. However, the flat-pass recording according to the present embodiment is a mode in which recording is performed after a recording medium is fed from a paper discharge port on the front side of the main body to a recording position and switched back.

  The front cover M7010 is below the paper discharge unit to serve also as a tray for stacking about several tens of normally recorded recording media (FIG. 8). During flat-pass recording, the front tray M7010 is raised to the position of the paper discharge port in order to feed the recording medium horizontally from the paper discharge port in the direction opposite to the normal transport direction (FIG. 12). The front cover M7010 is provided with a hook or the like (not shown), and the front cover M7010 can be fixed at a flat path paper feeding position. It can be detected by the sensor that the front cover M7010 is in the flat path paper feed position, and the flat path recording mode can be determined according to the detection.

  In the flat pass recording mode, the flat pass key E3004 is first operated in order to place the recording medium on the front tray M7010 and insert the recording medium from the paper discharge outlet. Thus, the spur holder M3130 and the pinch roller holder M3000 are lifted by a mechanism (not shown) to a position higher than the assumed thickness of the recording medium. Further, when the carriage M4000 is present in the sheet passing area, the recording medium can be easily inserted by lifting the carriage M4000 by a lift mechanism (not shown). Further, the rear tray M7090 can be opened by pressing the rear tray button M7110, and the rear subtray M7091 can be opened in a V shape (FIG. 13). The rear tray M7090 and the rear sub-tray M7091 are trays for supporting a long recording medium also on the back of the main body, since the rear recording tray protrudes from the back of the main body when a long recording medium is inserted from the front of the main body. If a thick recording medium does not maintain a flat posture during recording, it may rub against the head ejection surface or change the transport load, which may affect the recording quality. It is. However, if the recording medium has a length that does not protrude from the back of the main body, the rear tray M7090 or the like need not be opened.

  As described above, the recording medium can be inserted into the main body from the paper discharge port. The rear end of the recording medium (the end on the near side closest to the user) and the right end are aligned with the marker position of the front tray M7010 and placed on the front tray M7010.

  When the flat pass key E3004 is operated again here, the spur holder 3130 descends and the recording medium is nipped by the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 and the spur 3120. Thereafter, the recording medium is pulled into the main body by a predetermined amount by the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 (the direction opposite to the conveying direction during normal recording). When the recording medium is set for the first time, the front end (rear end) of the recording medium is aligned, so the front end of the short recording medium (end farthest from the user's end) is the transport roller M3060. May not reach. Accordingly, the predetermined amount is a distance until the rear end of the assumed shortest recording medium reaches the conveyance roller M3060. Since the recording medium fed by a predetermined amount reaches the conveying roller M3060, the pinch roller holder M3000 is lowered at that position, and the recording medium is nipped by the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070. Then, the recording medium is further fed so that the rear end portion is nipped by the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070. This completes the feeding of the recording medium for flat path recording (recording standby position).

  The nip force between the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 and the spur M3120 is set to be relatively low so as not to affect the formed image during paper discharge during normal recording. Accordingly, there is a risk that the position of the recording medium may be shifted before recording is performed during flat pass recording. However, in the present embodiment, the recording medium is nipped by the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070 having a relatively high nip force, so that the setting position of the recording medium is secured. Further, when the recording medium is fed into the main body by the predetermined amount, a flat path paper detection sensor lever (hereinafter referred to as an FPPE sensor lever) M3170 shields or forms an optical path of an FPPE sensor E9001 which is an infrared sensor not shown here. . As a result, the rear end position of the recording medium (which becomes the front end position during recording) can be detected. The FPPE sensor lever may be provided between the platen M3040 and the spur holder M3130 so as to be rotatable.

  When the recording medium is set at the recording standby position, a recording command is executed. In other words, the recording medium is transported by the transport roller M3060 to the recording position by the recording head H1001, and thereafter, recording is performed in the same manner as the normal recording operation, and the paper is discharged to the front tray M7010 after recording.

  If further flat pass recording is desired, the recorded recording medium is taken out from the front tray M7010, the next recording medium is set, and then the above-described processing is repeated. Specifically, it starts by pushing the flat pass key E3004 to lift the spur holder M3130 and the pinch roller holder M3000 and set the recording medium.

  On the other hand, when the flat pass recording is ended, the normal recording mode can be restored by returning the front tray M7010 to the normal recording position.

(G) Cleaning unit (FIGS. 15 and 16)
The cleaning unit is a mechanism for cleaning the recording head H1001. This includes a pump M5000, a cap M5010 for suppressing the drying of the recording head H1001, a blade M5020 for cleaning the discharge port forming surface of the recording head H1001, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the main driving force of the cleaning unit is transmitted from the AP motor E3005 (FIG. 18). A one-way clutch (not shown) operates the pump M5000 by rotating in one direction, and the wiper portion M5020 is moved and the cap M5010 is moved up and down by rotating in the other direction. The AP motor E3005 is also used as a drive source for the recording medium feeding operation, but a dedicated motor for performing the operation of the cleaning unit may be provided.

  The cap M5010 is driven from the motor E0003 so as to be lifted and lowered via a lift mechanism (not shown). At the raised position, it is possible to perform capping for each of the face surfaces of several ejection portions provided in the recording head H1001, and to protect or perform suction recovery during a non-recording operation. Further, during the recording operation, the position is set at a lowered position that avoids interference with the recording head H1001, and preliminary ejection can be received by facing the ejection surface. For example, in the illustrated example, two caps M5010 are provided so that ten ejection units are provided in the recording head H1001 and capping can be performed collectively for each ejection surface of the five ejection units. .

  A wiper portion H5020 made of an elastic member such as rubber is fixed to a wiper holder (not shown). The wiper holder is movable in the + Y and -Y directions (arrangement direction of the discharge ports in the discharge unit) in FIG. When the recording head H1001 reaches the home position, the wiper holder moves in the arrow -Y direction, so that wiping is possible. When the wiping operation is completed, the carriage is retracted out of the wiping area and then returned to a position where the wiper does not interfere with the face surface or the like. The wiper unit M5020 of this example is provided with a wiper blade M5020A that wipes the entire surface of the recording head H1001 including the ejection surfaces of all ejection units. Further, two wiper blades M5020B and M5020C for wiping in the vicinity of the nozzles are provided for each ejection surface of the five ejection units.

  Then, after wiping, the wiper portion M5020 abuts against the blade cleaner M5060, so that the ink attached to the wiper blades M5020A to M5020C itself can be removed. Further, a configuration (wet liquid transfer portion) is provided that improves the cleaning performance by wiping by transferring the wet liquid to the wiper blades M5020A to M5020C prior to wiping. The configuration of the wet liquid transfer unit and the wiping operation will be described later.

  The suction pump M5000 can generate a negative pressure in a state where the cap M5010 is joined to the discharge surface and a sealed space is formed therein. As a result, ink can be filled into the ejection portion from the ink tank H1900, and dust, sticking matter, bubbles, etc. existing in the ejection port or the ink path inside the ejection port can be removed by suction.

  As the suction pump M5000, for example, a tube pump type is used. This includes a member formed with a curved surface that holds at least a part of a flexible tube, a roller that can press the flexible tube toward the member, and a roller that supports the roller. And a rotatable roller support portion. That is, by rotating the roller support portion in a predetermined direction, the roller rolls while crushing the flexible tube on the curved surface forming member. Along with this, a negative pressure is generated in the sealed space formed by the cap M5010, the ink is sucked from the discharge port, and is drawn from the cap M5010 into a tube or a suction pump. The drawn ink is further transferred toward an appropriate member (waste ink absorber) provided in the lower case M7080.

  Note that an absorber M5011 is provided in an inner portion of the cap M5010 in order to reduce ink remaining on the ejection surface of the recording head H1001 after suction. Further, by sucking the ink remaining in the cap M5010 or the absorber M5011 with the cap M5010 opened, consideration is given to preventing the remaining ink from sticking and the subsequent adverse effects. Here, an air release valve (not shown) is provided in the middle of the ink suction path, and the cap M5010 is opened in advance when the cap M5010 is detached from the face surface, so that a sudden negative pressure does not act on the ejection surface. It is preferable to keep it.

  Further, the suction pump M5000 can be operated not only for suction recovery, but also for discharging ink received in the cap M5010 by a preliminary ejection operation performed with the cap M5010 facing the ejection surface. That is, by operating the suction pump M5000 when the pre-discharged ink held in the cap M5010 reaches a predetermined amount, the ink held in the cap M5010 is transferred to the waste ink absorber through the tube. can do.

  A series of operations continuously performed such as the operation of the wiper unit M5020, the raising and lowering of the cap M5010, and the opening and closing of the valve are performed by a main cam (not shown) provided on the output shaft of the motor E0003 and a plurality of cams driven by the main cam. It can be controlled by an arm or the like. That is, a predetermined operation can be performed by operating the cam portions, arms, and the like of the respective portions by the rotation of the main cam in accordance with the rotation direction of the motor E0003. The position of the main cam can be detected by a position detection sensor such as a photo interrupter.

(H) Wet liquid transfer part (FIGS. 17 and 16)
Recently, for the purpose of improving the recording density, water resistance, light resistance and the like of recorded matter, an ink containing a pigment component (hereinafter referred to as “pigment ink”) is increasingly used as a coloring material. The pigment ink is obtained by dispersing a solid color material in water by introducing a functional group on the surface of the pigment or the pigment. Therefore, the dried pigment ink dried by evaporation of moisture in the ink on the face surface is more damaging to the face surface than the dry fixed matter of dye-based ink in which the colorant itself is dissolved at the molecular level. . Moreover, the high molecular compound used in order to disperse | distribute a pigment in a solvent can be easily adsorbed to the face surface. This is a problem that occurs other than the pigment ink when a high molecular compound is present in the ink as a result of adding the reaction liquid to the ink for the purpose of adjusting the viscosity of the ink, improving light resistance, or the like.

  In this embodiment, the liquid is transferred to and attached to the blade M5020, and wiping is performed by the wet blade M5020. Thereby, the discharge surface is prevented from being deteriorated by the pigment ink, the wear of the wiper is reduced, and the accumulated matter is removed by dissolving the ink residue accumulated on the discharge surface. In the present specification, such a liquid is referred to as a wet liquid, and wiping using the liquid is referred to as wet wiping.

  In the present embodiment, the wet liquid is stored inside the recording apparatus main body. M5090 is a wet liquid tank, which stores a glycerin solution or the like as the wet liquid. M5100 is a wet liquid holding member, which is a fibrous member having an appropriate surface tension so that the wet liquid does not leak from the wet liquid tank M5090, and is impregnated and held with the wet liquid. M5080 is a wet liquid transfer member, which is made of, for example, a porous material having an appropriate capillary force, and has a wet liquid transfer portion M5081 in contact with the wiper blade. The wet liquid transfer member M5080 is also in contact with the wet liquid holding member M5100 soaked with the wet liquid, so that the wet liquid also soaks into the wet liquid transfer member M5080. The wet liquid transfer member M5080 is made of a material having a capillary force that can supply the wet liquid to the wet liquid transfer portion M5081 even when the remaining wet liquid is low.

  The operation of the wet liquid transfer unit and the wiper unit will be described.

  First, the cap M5010 is set to the lowered position, and the carriage M4000 is retracted to a position where it does not touch the blades M5020A to M5020C. In this state, the wiper portion M5020 is moved in the -Y direction, passes through the portion of the blade cleaner M5060, and is brought into contact with the wet liquid transfer portion M5081 (FIG. 17). By maintaining the contact state for an appropriate time, an appropriate amount of wet liquid is transferred to the wiper portion M5020.

  Next, the wiper part M5020 is moved in the + Y direction. Since the blade touches the blade cleaner M5060 on the surface where the wet liquid is not attached, the wet liquid remains held by the blade.

  After returning the blade to the wiping start position, the carriage M4000 is moved to the wiping position. By moving the wiper unit M5020 in the −Y direction again, the face surface of the recording head H1001 can be wiped with the surface with the wet liquid.

1.3 Electrical Circuit Configuration Next, the configuration of the electrical circuit in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a block diagram for schematically explaining the overall configuration of the electrical circuit in the recording apparatus J0013. The recording apparatus applied in the present embodiment is mainly configured by a carriage substrate E0013, a main substrate E0014, a power supply unit E0015, a front panel E0106, and the like.

  Here, the power supply unit E0015 is connected to the main board E0014 and supplies various driving powers.

  The carriage substrate E0013 is a printed circuit board unit mounted on the carriage M4000, and functions as an interface for exchanging signals with the recording head H1001 and supplying head drive power through the head connector E0101. As a portion for controlling the head drive power supply, a head drive voltage modulation circuit E3001 having a plurality of channels for the respective color ejection portions of the recording head H1001 is provided. Then, a head drive power supply voltage is generated according to a specified condition from the main board E0014 through a flexible flat cable (CRFFC) E0012. Further, a change in the positional relationship between the encoder scale E0005 and the encoder sensor E0004 is detected based on the pulse signal output from the encoder sensor E0004 as the carriage M4000 moves. Further, the output signal is output to the main board E0014 through a flexible flat cable (CRFFC) E0012.

  As shown in FIG. 20, an optical sensor E3010 composed of two light emitting elements (LEDs) E3011 and a light receiving element E3013 and a thermistor E3020 for detecting the ambient temperature are connected to the carriage substrate E0013. Hereinafter, these sensors are referred to as a multi-sensor E3000. Information obtained by the multi-sensor E3000 is output to the main board E0014 through a flexible flat cable (CRFFC) E0012.

  The main substrate E0014 is a printed circuit board unit that controls driving of each part of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. A host interface (host I / F) E0017 is provided on the board, and a recording operation is controlled based on data received from a host computer (not shown). Further, it is connected to various motors such as a carriage motor E0001, an LF motor E0002, an AP motor E3005, and a PR motor E3006 to control driving of each function. The carriage motor E0001 is a motor serving as a drive source for main-scanning the carriage M4000. The LF motor E0002 is a motor serving as a drive source for transporting the recording medium. The AP motor E3005 is a motor that is a driving source for the recovery operation of the recording head H1001 and the recording medium feeding operation. The PR motor E3006 is a motor serving as a drive source for the flat pass recording operation. Furthermore, it connects to the sensor signal E0104 for transmitting and receiving control signals and detection signals to various sensors that detect the operating state of each part of the printer, such as PE sensors, CR lift sensors, LF encoder sensors, and PG sensors. Is done. The main board E0014 is connected to each of the CRFFC E0012 and the power supply unit E0015, and further has an interface for exchanging information with the front panel E0106 via a panel signal E0107.

  The front panel E0106 is a unit provided in front of the recording apparatus main body for the convenience of user operation. This has a resume key E0019, LED E0020, power key E0018, and flat pass key E3004 (FIG. 6), and also has a device I / F E0100 used for connection with peripheral devices such as a digital camera.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the main board E1004.

  In the figure, E1102 is an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). This is connected to the ROM E1004 through the control bus E1014, and performs various controls according to the program stored in the ROM E1004. For example, the sensor signal E0104 related to various sensors and the multi-sensor signal E4003 related to the multi-sensor E3000 are transmitted and received. In addition, the output state from the encoder signal E1020, the power key E0018 on the front panel E0106, the resume key E0019 and the flat pass key E3004 is detected. Also, according to the connection and data input state of the host I / F E0017 and the device I / F E0100 on the front panel, various logical operations and condition judgments are performed, each component is controlled, and drive control of the ink jet recording apparatus is performed. I am in charge.

  E1103 is a driver reset circuit. This generates a CR motor drive signal E1037, an LF motor drive signal E1035, an AP motor drive signal E4001 and a PR motor drive signal E4002 in accordance with the motor control signal E1106 from the ASIC E1102, and drives each motor. Further, the driver / reset circuit E1103 has a power supply circuit, and supplies necessary power to each part such as the main board E0014, the carriage board E0013, and the front panel E0106. Further, a decrease in power supply voltage is detected, and a reset signal E1015 is generated and initialized.

  E1010 is a power supply control circuit that controls power supply to each sensor having a light emitting element in accordance with a power supply control signal E1024 from the ASIC E1102.

  The host I / F E0017 transmits a host I / F signal E1028 from the ASIC E1102 to a host I / F cable E1029 connected to the outside, and transmits a signal from the cable E1029 to the ASIC E1102.

  On the other hand, power is supplied from the power supply unit E0015. The supplied power is supplied to each part inside and outside the main board E0014 after voltage conversion as necessary. A power supply unit control signal E4000 from the ASIC E1102 is connected to the power supply unit E0015, and controls a low power consumption mode and the like of the recording apparatus main body.

  The ASIC E1102 is a one-chip semiconductor integrated circuit with an arithmetic processing unit, and outputs the motor control signal E1106, the power supply control signal E1024, the power supply unit control signal E4000, and the like described above. Then, signals are exchanged with the host I / F E0017, and signals are exchanged with the device I / F E0100 on the front panel through the panel signal E0107. Further, the state is detected by each sensor such as a PE sensor and an ASF sensor through a sensor signal E0104. Further, the multi-sensor E3000 is controlled through the multi-sensor signal E4003 and the state is detected. Further, the state of the panel signal E0107 is detected, the driving of the panel signal E0107 is controlled, and the LED E0020 on the front panel blinks.

  Further, the ASIC E1102 detects the state of the encoder signal (ENC) E1020 to generate a timing signal, and controls the recording operation by interfacing with the recording head H1001 using the head control signal E1021. Here, the encoder signal (ENC) E1020 is an output signal of the encoder sensor E0004 inputted through the CRFFC E0012. The head control signal E1021 is connected to the carriage substrate E0013 through the flexible flat cable E0012. Then, the information is supplied to the recording head H1001 via the head drive voltage modulation circuit E3001 and the head connector E0101, and various information from the recording head H1001 is transmitted to the ASIC E1102. Among these, the head temperature information for each ejection unit is amplified by the head temperature detection circuit E3002 on the main substrate, and then input to the ASIC E1102 to be used for various control determinations.

  In the figure, E3007 is a DRAM, which is used as a data buffer for recording, a data buffer received from the host computer, etc., and also as a work area necessary for various control operations.

1.4 Recording Head Configuration The configuration of the head cartridge H1000 applied in this embodiment will be described below. The head cartridge H1000 in this embodiment has a recording head H1001, means for mounting the ink tank H1900, and means for supplying ink from the ink tank H1900 to the recording head. Then, it is detachably mounted on the carriage M4000.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the ink tank H1900 is attached to the head cartridge H1000 applied in the present embodiment. The recording apparatus of the present embodiment forms an image with 10 color pigment inks. The ten colors are cyan (C), light cyan (Lc), magenta (M), light magenta (Lm), yellow (Y), first black (K1), second black (K2), red (R), and green. (G) and Gray. Accordingly, the ink tank T0001 is prepared for these 10 colors independently. As shown in the figure, each ink tank is detachable from the head cartridge H1000. The ink tank H1900 can be attached and detached while the head cartridge H1000 is mounted on the carriage M4000.

1.5 Ink Configuration The 10 color inks used in the present invention will be described below.

  The ten colors used in the present invention are cyan (C), light cyan (Lc), magenta (M), light magenta (Lm), yellow (Y), first black (K1), second black (K2), Gray (Gray), Red (R) and Green (G). All of the colorants used for each color are preferably pigments. Here, in order to disperse the pigment, a known general dispersant may be used, or the pigment surface may be modified by a known general method to impart self-dispersibility. In the gist of the present invention, the colorant used for at least some of the colors may be a dye. Further, the colorant used for at least some of the colors may be in the form of toning pigments and dyes, and a plurality of types of pigments may be included. Further, the 10-color ink used in the present invention may contain at least one selected from water-soluble organic solvents, additives, surfactants, binders, and preservatives within the scope of the present invention. .

2. Characteristic Configuration The present invention relates to the arrangement of print permitting areas of a mask used in multipass printing. Specifically, in the gradation mask shown in FIG. 5, the print permitting area is not arranged adjacently in the scan direction of the printhead. In the present embodiment, the mask pattern used for multi-pass printing in the mask data conversion process J0008 described above with reference to FIG. 1 is a gradation mask pattern, and the print allowable area is not adjacent in the scanning direction. .

  Here, the features of the present embodiment will be described more specifically. In the present embodiment, multi-pass printing is performed in which the print head is scanned K times (K is an integer of 2 or more) over the same area of the print medium. In this multi-pass printing, K nozzle groups obtained by dividing the number of nozzles of the print head into K are sequentially opposed to the same area in each scan, and printing is performed by sequentially using the K nozzle groups opposed in each scan. Do. In order to cause the K nozzle groups to sequentially face the same area in each scan, the recording medium is conveyed by the length corresponding to one nozzle group between the scans. Thus, for example, in the case of 4-pass printing as shown in FIG. 5, printing is performed using the first to fourth nozzle groups sequentially in each scan of the first to fourth passes. Mask patterns A to D are associated with the first to fourth nozzle groups, and the first to fourth nozzle groups are based on print data thinned out by the associated mask patterns A to D. Recording is performed sequentially.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first feature of the mask pattern used in this embodiment is a mask corresponding to the central nozzle (upper nozzle of the second nozzle group, lower nozzle of the third nozzle group) of the recording head. Compared to the pattern recording rate (40%, 40%), the mask pattern recording rate (10%, lower nozzle of the first nozzle group, upper nozzle of the fourth nozzle group) corresponding to the end nozzles of the recording head 10%) is smaller. In the example of FIG. 5, the recording rate (ratio of recording allowable area) gradually increases from 40% → 30% → 20% → 10% from the center of the array toward the end along the nozzle array direction. The arrangement of the mask pattern recording allowable area and non-recording allowable area is determined so as to be smaller. For each of the mask patterns A to D, as shown in FIGS. 5, 24, and 25, the print allowance area is set so that the ratio of the print allowance area decreases from the center to the end. It is preferable that the non-recording allowable areas are arranged.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the first feature, there is also a second feature that “the print permitting areas are arranged non-adjacent along the scanning direction”. In other words, while having the gradation mask characteristic that the recording rate varies along the nozzle arrangement direction, it also has the non-adjacent mask characteristic that the print permitting area is not adjacent. According to the mask pattern having these two features, it is possible to simultaneously realize reduction of edge streaks and high-speed driving.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the mask pattern recording permissible areas are arranged non-periodically in the scanning direction. By arranging the recording allowance areas non-periodically, there is an effect of reducing the synchronization with the recording data.

(First embodiment)
Mask Pattern Generation Processing FIG. 22 is a flowchart of mask data generation processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the mask pattern generation process includes the following four steps. That is, the “code setting” step 2201 sets the number and type of codes corresponding to the setting of the number of passes and the recording rate in the mask pattern creation buffer. Step 2202 of the next “adjacent prohibition swap process” selects two points in the horizontal direction (corresponding to the scanning direction of the recording head) of the buffer in which the codes are set as described above, and exchanges these codes (swap). To do. This process is sequentially performed for all lines (horizontal data strings). Next, in step 2203 of “adjacent removal processing”, it is checked whether or not the adjacent code remains, and if there is an adjacent code, processing for removing the adjacent code is performed. Further, the “mask pattern conversion” step 2204 converts these into mask patterns based on the mask pattern creation code.

  As described above, according to the mask pattern generation process of the present embodiment, the adjacency of the print permitting area in the mask pattern is eliminated. As a result, the restriction on the driving frequency can be relaxed, for example, the scanning speed of the recording head can be approximately doubled without changing the driving frequency, and the recording operation can be accelerated. That is, when the print permitting area includes an adjacent area arrangement pattern, the drive frequency is set to drive the corresponding nozzle for printing allowed by the adjacent area. When the purpose is to increase the recording speed or the like, the maximum driving frequency possible in the recording head in consideration of ink refill or the like is set as the driving frequency. Then, the scanning speed is set in accordance with the driving frequency so that dots can be recorded on the pixels corresponding to the adjacent area. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, at least the adjacent printing allowable area is excluded from the mask pattern, so that the scanning speed can be doubled when the set drive frequency is not changed.

The details of the processing of each step shown in FIG. 22 will be described below. In the present embodiment, multi-pass printing is performed using a print head in which 768 nozzles are arranged for each color to complete printing in a certain area by four print scans.
In this case, paper feed of a length corresponding to 192 nozzles is performed between each recording scan.

“Code setting” step 2201
FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the contents of the mask pattern creation buffer. The size of the mask pattern creation buffer of this embodiment is the same as the size of the mask pattern. As shown in FIG. 23, the vertical is the number obtained by dividing the number of nozzles by the number of passes (4, which is the number of multi-pass scans), which is 192 lines in this embodiment. The horizontal size is the same as the horizontal size of the mask pattern, which is 800 columns in this embodiment. Note that the mask pattern for 800 columns is repeatedly used in the horizontal direction (corresponding to the scanning direction).

  24 and 25 each show an example of the recording rate to be set with respect to the position of the nozzle where the mask pattern is used for recording. FIG. 24 shows a case where the recording rate is set to change as continuously as possible according to the nozzle position, and FIG. 25 shows a case where the recording rate is set stepwise. Hereinafter, an example in which the recording rate is set as shown in FIG. 24 will be described. Further, in order to perform adjacent prohibition, the recording rate is set to 50% or less for each nozzle. 24 and FIG. 25, nozzle numbers 0 to 191 corresponding to area 0 constitute the first nozzle group shown in FIG. 5, and nozzle numbers 192 to 383 corresponding to area 1 are the first nozzle groups shown in FIG. Two nozzle groups are configured. Similarly, nozzle numbers 384-575 corresponding to area 2 constitute the third nozzle group shown in FIG. 5, and nozzle numbers 576-767 corresponding to area 3 constitute the fourth nozzle group shown in FIG.

  FIG. 26 shows a state in which codes A, B, C, and D are set in the mask pattern creation buffer based on the recording rate settings shown in FIG. Codes A, B, C, and D are codes for setting the first-pass, second-pass, third-pass, and fourth-pass printable areas, respectively. In the example shown in FIG. 26, the vertical size and position correspond to the number of nozzles 192 and the position used in each scan for an area where printing is completed in four scans. Codes A, B, C, and D are codes corresponding to the areas (0), (1), (2), and (3) shown in FIG. 24, and the buffers are shown in FIG. Stored in That is, each code is stored in an arrangement as shown in FIG. 26 in each of the area of 192 × 800 in the mask pattern. For example, in line 0, code A is stored in each of X% areas corresponding to a recording rate of 800 areas from left to right. Similarly, code B is stored in 25% of 800 areas, code C is stored in Y% of 800 areas, and code D is stored in 25% of 800 areas. In this way, in this code setting step, the area where printing is completed in four scans is filled so that the codes A, B, C, and D corresponding to the four scans become 100%. Thereby, the complementarity between the mask patterns used in the four scans is ensured in advance.

“Adjacent Prohibition Swap Process” Step FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining “adjacent prohibition swap process”. In the processing of this step, as described in FIG. 26, in the buffer storing the code, two points on each horizontal code data string (hereinafter referred to as a line) are selected by a method described later (for example, Point A and Point B shown in FIG. Then, the two codes are exchanged (swapped). This process is repeated for each line, for example, 200,000 times. Specifically, as will be described later, two codes A to D are selected at random, and the two selected codes are exchanged, so that the codes A to D have an aperiodic arrangement. As a result, non-periodic mask characteristics can be obtained.

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing details of the “adjacent prohibition swap process”.

  First, a counter used for restricting the repetition of the process for excluding adjacency as an initial process is initialized (S2801). Next, two points are selected using a random function (S2802). Then, when the code is swapped for the two selected points, it is checked whether or not the same code is adjacent on both sides of the two points (S2803, S2804). If no adjacency occurs at either point, the code is swapped (S2805).

  If it is determined in step S2803 or S2804 that adjacency occurs, the counter value is examined to determine whether the counter value exceeds a predetermined threshold (S2806). If the counter value exceeds the threshold, the code is swapped even if there is an adjacency. When the counter does not exceed the threshold value, the counter value is incremented (S2807), and the processes after step S2802 are repeated. Here, for example, 1000 is set as the threshold value to be compared with the counter value.

  With the above processing, it is possible to perform code swapping so as not to generate adjacent codes as much as possible. If a combination of two points where the same code is not adjacent to each other by swapping cannot be selected up to the threshold number by setting the threshold, the swap is performed as it is for the following reason. That is, this process is terminated in a state where certain adjacency is excluded, and the process is prevented from continuing for a long time or unlimited. The mask pattern for prohibiting the adjacency can be created up to a recording rate of up to 50%, but the closer the recording rate is to 50%, the more difficult it becomes to select a combination of two points that do not adjoin the same code. There is a case. Since this is a known technique for random functions, a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIGS. 29A to 29C are diagrams for specifically explaining whether or not the same code adjacency occurs in steps S2803 and S23804.

  FIG. 29A shows a case where, even if two points (Point A and Point B) are selected using a random function and the codes are exchanged, no adjacency occurs at the exchanged position. FIG. 29B shows a case where the adjacency occurs on the Point A side when the codes are replaced. FIG. 29C shows a case where Point A is at the end. In this case, considering the repeated use of the mask pattern in multi-pass printing, the data at the opposite end is examined. In this case, when the code is moved from Point B to Point A, adjacent to the code B at the opposite end occurs.

“Adjacency Removal Process” Step FIGS. 30A to 30D show the adjacency removal process (step S2203 in FIG. 22) performed on the code arrangement from which a certain adjacency has been eliminated by the “adjacency prohibition swap process” described above. It is a figure explaining. In this step, the above-described line code arrangement is checked to determine whether or not an adjacency remains. If an adjacency remains, a process of removing the adjacency is performed.

  First, one point is selected by a random function (StartPoint shown in FIG. 30A), and it is checked whether there is the same code adjacent to each other in order. FIG. 30B shows a case where an adjacent code D is found. This point is hereinafter referred to as Point A for the sake of explanation.

  When the same code is found, the next point is searched for with other codes. FIG. 30C shows a state in which an adjoining other than the code D is being searched for and the code A is found adjoining at PointB. Then, the cord on the right side after Point A is moved to the tip (left) side of Point B. At the same time, the code in the meantime is shifted to the Point A side by one area (the process shown in FIGS. 30C to 30D; hereinafter referred to as “Shift operation” for the sake of explanation). With this process, even if the same code adjacency remains, it can be surely removed.

  FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing details of the “adjacent removal processing” step.

  First, a start point is determined using a random function (S3101). Next, in order from the start point, the adjacent of the same code is searched, and it is checked whether there is an adjacent of the same code (S3102, S3103). Then, when reaching the right end portion for 800 areas, the same end is checked from the opposite end portion, and if no adjoining of the same code is found for the code for one turn + 1 area, the processing ends.

  When the adjacent of the same code is found, the adjacent point (Point B) of the other code is examined as described above with reference to FIG. 30 (S3104, S3105). Note that Point B is always found if the recording rate is 50% or less, but in case there is a mistake in setting the recording rate, the process ends in error if Point B is not found.

  When Point B is found, as described with reference to FIG. 30, Shift operation is performed (S3106), and the adjacency of the same code is removed. Thereafter, returning to the top of the flowchart, a new start point is selected.

“Mask Pattern Conversion” Step In the “Mask Pattern Conversion” step (step S2204 in FIG. 22), the mask pattern creation buffer having the code arrangement in which the adjacent code is removed by the above-described steps is processed from the code to the final. Conversion to standard mask data.

  FIG. 32A shows a part of the mask pattern creation buffer from which the adjacency is excluded, and shows the storage states of the codes A, B, C, and D, respectively. FIG. 32B shows a part of the mask data obtained by extracting the code A portion from this state (the area shown in black is the recording allowable area, and the area shown in white is the recording non-permissible area). It is a figure which shows the mask pattern corresponding to the area 0 shown. Similarly, FIG. 32C shows a pattern obtained by extracting the code B, and shows a mask pattern corresponding to area 1 in FIG. Further, FIG. 32D shows a pattern obtained by extracting the code C, and shows a mask pattern corresponding to the area 2 in FIG. Further, FIG. 11E is a pattern obtained by extracting the code D, and shows a mask pattern corresponding to the area 3 in FIG.

  FIGS. 33A and 33B are diagrams showing examples of mask patterns created by the method according to the present embodiment described above. FIG. 33A shows a part of a mask with a low recording rate, specifically, a portion corresponding to the recording rate per left end of area 0 in FIG. FIG. 33B shows a part of a mask having a relatively high recording rate, and shows a mask pattern around the boundary between area 1 and area 2 in FIG. As can be seen from these drawings, a mask pattern without data in the print permitting area adjacent in the horizontal direction (scanning direction) is generated. In the mask pattern, print permitting areas are arranged non-periodically in the scanning direction.

  An example of high-speed recording using this mask pattern will be described. Consider a case in which a recording head is used that takes 100 μs after ink is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head until the ink is refilled into the nozzles and can be ejected. In this case, when there is an adjacent mask pattern, printing can be performed at a speed of 10 kHz with respect to the adjacent pixels among the pixels defining the ejection data. On the other hand, when a mask pattern having no adjacency is used according to the present embodiment, the ejection frequency of the recording head is half of the recording frequency for the recording pixels. In this case, by doubling the scanning speed of the recording head, it is possible to perform recording at a recording frequency of 20 kHz with respect to the pixels of the recording data.

Characteristics of Mask Pattern FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the setting of the recording rate of the mask pattern created to measure the characteristics of the mask pattern according to the present embodiment described above. The print head is arranged for 768 nozzles per color, and is used for characteristic measurement by multi-pass printing that completes an image of the same scanning area by scanning the print head four times and feeding 192 nozzles between each scan. Record images. Of the mask patterns created based on this embodiment, part of the mask pattern corresponding to area 0 in FIG. 34 is shown in FIG. 35A, and part of the mask pattern corresponding to area 2 is shown in FIG. Shown in

  FIGS. 36A and 36B are data obtained by examining the characteristics of the distance between the print permitting areas of the mask pattern shown in FIG.

  This data is obtained by examining the frequency with respect to the distance between an arbitrary print allowable area and another print allowable area in an area row (line) in the horizontal direction (scanning direction) of the mask pattern. More specifically, attention is paid to one recording allowable area of each line, and the area between the areas is expressed by how many areas are separated from each other and the recording allowable area. Count the number of. Sequentially, the other recordable areas are also noticed one by one, and the distance from the other recordable areas is counted. Then, the count values are added to obtain data shown in FIG. In consideration of repeated use of the mask pattern, there are two inter-dot distances on the left and right when the mask patterns are arranged periodically. To do. 36 (A) and 36 (B), the distance is expressed in mm, and the total count value for each distance is expressed as “power”.

  FIG. 36A is a diagram in which the horizontal axis is plotted in a relatively wide range, and FIG. 36B is a diagram in which the horizontal axis is enlarged and plotted in a relatively narrow range. In the mask pattern of the present embodiment, the pitch between areas is equivalent to 1200 dpi, and the distance between dots is converted to mm. In the figure, the mask data of four lines are displayed in an overlapping manner.

  In FIG. 36B, the zero distance point on the horizontal axis is zero because the distance between the same permissible areas is not calculated in this calculation. The data on the right side is for the adjacent distance, but the frequency (power) is zero, indicating that there is no adjacent recording allowable area of the mask. In addition, the data on the right side of the data indicates the frequency with which the permissible area exists by inserting one blank data from the data of interest, which is slightly higher than the frequency for the longer distance. .

  In general, in order to prevent a large amount of print data from being synchronized and concentrated on one scan, it is desirable that the appearance frequency be the same for all the distances between print allowable areas. This is because it is considered that the synchronization between the recording data and the mask pattern can be suppressed to a certain level or less regardless of the interval between the recording data. In this sense, this characteristic is an aperiodic characteristic in which the recording data and the mask pattern are hardly synchronized.

  Next, FIGS. 37A and 37B show data indicating the characteristics of the distance between the print allowable areas of the mask pattern shown in FIG. 35B. FIG. 37A is a graph in which the horizontal axis is plotted in a relatively wide range, and FIG. 37B is a graph in which the horizontal axis is enlarged and plotted in a relatively narrow range.

  As shown in FIG. 37B, the third data from the smaller area distance, that is, the data having the blank data sandwiched from the data of interest exists frequently. In other words, the recording data and the mask data are more likely to be synchronized than the characteristics shown in FIG. However, the frequency is about twice as high as the frequency of the distance between the areas longer by one area, and it is considered that the synchronization of the recording data and the mask data does not cause a problem in actual recording. It can be seen that a mask pattern in which a periodic fine texture hardly appears due to such characteristics.

  As the recording rate setting in the gradation mask pattern approaches 50%, the frequency of data with blank data sandwiched from the target data increases, and the frequency of data with two blank areas decreases. . The inventors of the present application have studied by changing the setting of the recording rate, and obtained data indicating that the image adverse effect occurs in the four scans when the difference between these frequencies is three times or more. It was. Therefore, by designing the mask pattern within this range, it is possible to create a mask pattern that can obtain a suitable recording result.

Effect of “adjacent removal processing” FIG. 38 shows the mask pattern recording rate setting under conditions in which the recording rates of (area 1) and (area 2) are very close. FIG. 39 shows a part of the mask pattern corresponding to the area 1 in FIG. 38, created by omitting the “adjacent removal means” step under this recording rate setting. As shown in this figure, it can be seen that the horizontal adjacency area still remains in the horizontal direction. This indicates that, when selecting two points for code swapping in the “adjacent prohibition swap process”, as a result of code swapping, it was not possible to select a point where the same code does not occur. This is because the recording rate setting is high.

  FIG. 40 shows a part of the mask data created by performing the “adjacent removal means” process from this state. In FIG. 39, it can be seen that the adjacency of the existing data in the horizontal direction has been eliminated.

  When such a high recording rate is satisfied, there may be an image detrimental effect that the frequency at which data is arranged at a dot-to-dot distance that is spaced one by one from the mask pattern data described above is significantly increased. However, even in such a case, the image quality is sufficient for the high-speed mode, and the mask pattern is useful for performing high-speed recording while avoiding white streaks by setting the recording rate according to the position of the nozzle. .

  As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, white streaks and the like can be avoided by setting the recording rate according to the position of the corresponding nozzle. In addition to this, it is possible to increase the recording speed by creating a mask pattern that does not have an adjoining recording allowable area in the horizontal direction (scanning direction). Furthermore, by making the arrangement of the print allowance areas in the mask pattern an aperiodic arrangement, the synchronization of the mask pattern and the print data can be suppressed.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the example in which “neighboring removal” processing is performed after the “neighboring prohibition swap processing” step has been described. In the second embodiment of the present invention, an example in which “adjacent removal processing” is not performed will be described.

  When the recording rate set in the “code setting” step as the mask pattern duty is a relatively low recording rate below a certain level, the “adjacency prohibition swap process” can eliminate the adjacency of the same code. Therefore, depending on the recording rate to be set, the “adjacent removal process” can be omitted. Thereby, compared with 1st Embodiment, the process for mask preparation can be simplified. According to the experiment, if the maximum recording density set by the “code setting” means is 40%, a mask pattern having no recording adjacent area in the horizontal direction can be created even without “adjacent removal processing”. Can do.

It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of the image data process in the recording system applied by one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of recording data that is transferred from the printer driver of the host device to the recording apparatus in the recording system of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an output pattern with respect to an input level that is converted by a dot array patterning process by a recording apparatus used in the embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the multipass printing method which the printing apparatus used by embodiment performs. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the mask pattern applied to the multipass printing method which the printing apparatus used by embodiment performs. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the front when not in use. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the back when not in use. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in an embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the front surface during use. It is a figure for demonstrating the internal mechanism of the recording device main body used by embodiment, and is a perspective view from an upper right part. It is a figure for demonstrating the internal mechanism of the recording device main body used by embodiment, and is a perspective view from the upper left part. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view for explaining an internal mechanism of the recording apparatus main body used in the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the front surface during flat pass recording. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the back during flat pass recording. It is a typical side sectional view for explaining flat pass recording performed in an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a cleaning unit in the recording apparatus main body used in the embodiment. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration and operation of the wiper unit in the cleaning unit of FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration and operation of a wet liquid transfer unit in the cleaning unit of FIG. 15. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an electrical circuit in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of the main board | substrate in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the multi sensor mounted in the carriage board | substrate in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a state where an ink tank is mounted on the head cartridge applied in the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the mask pattern creation process which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the buffer for mask pattern creation in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the recording rate set for every position of a nozzle in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other example of the recording rate set for every position of the nozzle in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the "code setting" step of a mask pattern creation process in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the step of "adjacent prohibition swap process" of the mask pattern creation process in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the step of the “adjacent prohibition swap process”. FIGS. 29A to 29C are diagrams for explaining whether or not adjacency occurs when code is swapped in the “adjacent prohibition swap processing” step. FIGS. 30A to 30D are diagrams illustrating the adjacent removal process of the mask pattern creation process in the first embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the said "adjacent removal process" step. FIGS. 32A to 32E are diagrams for explaining the “mask pattern conversion” step of the mask pattern creation process in the first embodiment. FIG. 33A and FIG. 33B are diagrams for explaining an example of a mask pattern created according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, it is a diagram for explaining the recording rate of the mask pattern created to measure the mask pattern characteristics. FIG. 35A and FIG. 35B are diagrams illustrating a mask pattern created for measuring the above characteristics. FIG. 36A and FIG. 36B are diagrams for explaining the characteristics of a mask pattern created to measure the above characteristics. FIG. 37A and FIG. 37B are diagrams for explaining the characteristics of a mask pattern created to measure the above characteristics. It is a figure explaining the recording rate of the other mask pattern produced in order to measure a characteristic. It is a figure which shows the example of the mask pattern produced without performing "adjacent removal process". It is a figure for demonstrating the effect in the case of performing "adjacent removal processing" in 1st Embodiment. FIGS. 41A to 41D are diagrams showing examples of mask patterns without adjacent data in the conventional example.

Explanation of symbols

J0001 Application J0002 First stage J0003 Second stage J0004 Gamma correction J0005 Half toning J0006 Print data creation J0007 Dot arrangement patterning processing J0008 Mask data conversion processing J0009 Head drive circuit H1001 Recording head J0011 Recording system J0012 Host device J0013 Recording device P0002 Mask pattern P0002 (a ) To P0002 (d) First mask pattern to fourth mask pattern

Claims (8)

A recording data generation method for performing recording by causing a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged to scan the same area of a recording medium a plurality of times,
Generating print data to be recorded in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out the print data to be recorded in the same area using a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of scans;
Each of the plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of scans corresponds to each of the plurality of nozzles, and the scan allowable area that allows recording of the print data and the non-print allowable area that does not allow recording are included in the scan. Is a pattern that is arranged in the direction of, and is a pattern in which the recording allowable area is not adjacent in the scanning direction,
Print data generation characterized in that a print allowable area ratio of the mask pattern corresponding to an end nozzle of the print head is smaller than a print allowable area ratio of the mask pattern corresponding to a central nozzle of the print head Method.   2. The print data generation method according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of mask patterns is a pattern in which the print permission areas are aperiodically arranged in the scanning direction. A recording apparatus that performs recording by causing a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged to scan the same area of a recording medium a plurality of times,
Means for generating recording data to be recorded in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out the recording data to be recorded in the same region using a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of scans;
Each of the plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of scans corresponds to each of the plurality of nozzles, and the scan allowable area that allows recording of the print data and the non-print allowable area that does not allow recording are included in the scan. Is a pattern that is arranged in the direction of, and is a pattern in which the recording allowable area is not adjacent in the scanning direction,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a recording allowable area ratio of the mask pattern corresponding to an end nozzle of the recording head is smaller than a recording allowable area ratio of the mask pattern corresponding to a central nozzle of the recording head.   The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of mask patterns is a pattern in which the recording allowable areas are arranged aperiodically in the scanning direction. The same area can be obtained by scanning a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged on the same area of the recording medium a plurality of times, and recording a thinned image using different nozzle groups of the recording head in each of the plurality of scans. A recording device for completing an image to be recorded
Means for generating recording data to be recorded in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out the recording data to be recorded in the same region using a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the nozzle groups used in the plurality of scans. When,
Recording control means for recording the thinned image based on the generated recording data using a nozzle group facing the same region in each of the plurality of scans,
Each of the plurality of mask patterns has a non-printable area and a non-printable area so that the ratio of the printable area is smaller in the portion corresponding to the nozzle near the end than in the portion corresponding to the nozzle near the center in the nozzle array. A pattern in which print permitting areas are arranged, wherein the print permitting areas are arranged non-adjacent and non-periodically in the scanning direction;
The ratio of the print allowable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the nozzle group including the end nozzle of the print head is smaller than the ratio of the print allowable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the nozzle group not including the end nozzle. A recording apparatus. The same area can be obtained by scanning the same area on the recording medium a plurality of times with a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged, and recording a thinned image using a different nozzle of the recording head in each of the plurality of scans. A recording device for completing an image to be recorded
In order to make each of the plurality of nozzle groups formed by dividing the plurality of nozzles by a predetermined number of units face the same area in each of the plurality of scans, the recording medium is formed by an amount corresponding to a single nozzle group. Conveying means for conveying;
Recording to be recorded by each nozzle group in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out the recording data corresponding to the same region using a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the nozzle groups used in each of the plurality of scans. Means for generating data;
In each of the plurality of scans, using a nozzle group facing the same region, recording control means for recording the thinned image based on the generated recording data,
Each of the plurality of mask patterns is formed by arranging a print allowable area and a non-print allowable area so that the ratio of the print allowable area decreases along the nozzle array from the center to the end of the array. A pattern in which the print permitting areas are arranged non-adjacent and non-periodically along the scanning direction;
The ratio of the print allowable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the nozzle group including the end nozzle of the print head is smaller than the ratio of the print allowable area of the mask pattern corresponding to the nozzle group not including the end nozzle. A recording apparatus. A plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of scans for recording data to be recorded in the same area when recording is performed by causing a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged to scan the same area of the recording medium a plurality of times. A method of manufacturing a mask pattern used for generating recording data to be recorded in each of the plurality of scans by thinning out using
A code for setting each code row corresponding to the plurality of scans in a direction corresponding to the scanning direction in accordance with a ratio of an area that allows printing determined according to a nozzle position of the recording head. A setting process;
An exchange step of exchanging the positions of the codes so as to eliminate the adjacency of the same code in the set code sequence;
A mask pattern manufacturing method comprising: a conversion step of replacing the exchanged code string with an arrangement of print permitting areas for each of the plurality of scans.   For the code string exchanged in the exchange process, the code between the adjacent identical code and the code different from the code and adjacent to the same code is shifted by one area and The mask pattern manufacturing method according to claim 7, further comprising a shift step of moving one of the adjacent one of the same codes to an area region opened by the shift.

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